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Make Dreams Real

This is a special message, from my heart if I may say, to all of you Rotarians, blessed enough to be governed by the 4-way Test, a set of values that if seriously lived by will surely help make this world a better place for our children, a world of peace, love, and harmony…

A world that believes in The One and Only Creator, called in the most Majestic Names by the respective different languages on earth: GOD or ALMIGHTY or DIVINE PROVIDENCE in English, ALLAH in Arabic, DIYOS or PANGINOON or GINOO or BATHALA or POONG MAYKAPAL to native Philippine dialects, TUHAN to the Malays (Indonesia/Malaysia), DIO to the Italians, GOTT to the Germans, APO MAGBABAYA to the Highlanders of Mindanao, YAHWEH or JEHOVAH to the Jews, to mention some.

To you officers and members of the Rotary Club of Davao City, and to all other guests, I convey to all of you, the universal greetings of peace: Assalamu Alaikum, Shalom, Peace of God Be Upon everyone, and Kapayapaan ng kaisa-isang Panginoong Diyos ay Mapasa-ating lahat, ang Kalinaw sa Ginoo Maanaa Kanatong Tanan.

To those of you who did not have the chance of visiting the town of Datu Paglas, or have not learned up close its story, please let me bring you to a virtual journey into my town’s history and be a part of its story thru the following video.

: (SHOW VIDEO); DIP stand again and continue…

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining me in revisiting the story of my town.

When RCD President Dr. Romy Du first broached the idea of my speaking before you today, my first instinct was to decline, not because I did not want to, but because I felt I would not be up to the challenge of speaking before such a distinguished audience. However, when I was told about the theme of this Rotary year, MAKE DREAMS REAL, I thought this is a subject I could personally relate to.

RI President Dong Kuan Lee asks Rotarians worldwide to Make Dreams Real for the world’s children. How do we do it? Children have their own dreams as children. We their parents have our own dreams for them. The task is huge, but not impossible.

How do we do it, when we have our own limitations? We actually are already doing it with our own children. As they say, Charity Begins At Home. Then, as we pursue our careers, in work, in business, we help others fulfill their dreams. We get people employed or engaged in productive undertakings, thus enable them to also feed their children, also send them to school, also provide shelter to them.

Dear Rotarians, our best will never be enough to meet the aspirations of RI President Lee, an aspiration we all share. It’s like the journey on foot, of a thousand miles. What we are doing maybe considered as the first few steps of such long journey. The bottomline is just we just have to continue trying to be good, whether as son or daughter to our parents, as a brother or sister to our siblings, as parents to our children or grandchildren, as employees in our respective companies or as practitioners in our respective careers, or at least, good citizens to our country. The world is never perfect, as we are never perfect. But in the end, there is God Almighty Who Looks After us and our children, the little angels on earth.

Yes, let us all do the best we can, to Make Dreams Real for children. If not thru material things, then thru our well wishes and kind thoughts for them. For those whom we cannot reach out for now, let us continue reaching out to them thru prayers. And even in our own dreams let’s include them.

As the saying of the Wise goes, “we did not just inherit this world from our parents, the bigger truth is that we merely borrowed if from our children”. Let us never forget this bigger truth, and one way or another, in God’s Own Timing, we can help Make Dreams Real for them, the future and the hope of the next generation.

: Maraming salamat po at mabuhay ang mga Kabataan sa Mundo!; Good evening and God Bless the children.

Datu Ibrahim “Toto” Pendatun Paglas III